Children who love snacks should be careful: the more they see them, the more they will want to eat them. Research: The brain reacts to the sight of French fries.

If you like to eat snacks then be careful. “The more you look at them, the more you want to eat them.” A study from the University of Southern California found that children who typically eat more ultra-processed foods, such as cookies and chips, would trigger a brain reward system response when viewing related photos. Children with stronger signal responses will also have increased BMI and body fat after one year. Experts say that if children develop the habit of eating processed foods, they will be more sensitive to food cues and want to eat more. It is advisable to limit snack intake and not keep snacks in prominent places to reduce the possibility of overstimulating the brain.

A research team from the University of Southern California published a small observational study Oct. 23 in “JAMA Network Open” to explore the relationship between children’s ultra-processed food intake and brain response, BMI and body fat one year later.

The study subjects were 46 healthy-weight American children aged 7 to 10 years. Children were asked to view pictures of highly palatable foods, such as cookies and chips, and were monitored for signals in the dorsal striatum, an area of ​​the brain related to the reward system. After about a year, the children’s BMI, body fat percentage and waist circumference were measured.

The study found that children who typically eat more ultra-processed foods had stronger responses in the dorsal striatum of their brains when they saw pictures of cookies, chips and other foods. Children with stronger signals have greater increases in BMI and body fat after one year.

The Taiwan Science and Technology Media Center invited Taiwanese experts to explain this research. Huang Yizhen, associate professor in the department of nutrition at the School of Health Care of China Medical University, said the study shows that habitual ultra-processed food consumption may make children more sensitive to food cues, such as seeing and thinking about food. It is not just a simple choice of food, but it is related to habits and stimulus-driven behaviors.

Professor Gong Junjia of the Department of Psychology at National Cheng Kung University explained that the striatum is a core organelle located in the basal ganglia. The basal ganglia is a major relay and processing station deep in the brain. It is responsible for connecting different parts of the cerebral cortex and thalamus to form a complex information adaptation and screening network. It is also responsible for coordinating information at all levels of activity, cognition, and emotion. The striatum is a very important information input portal and is closely related to addiction, advanced learning, and movement control.

Gong Junjia said that generally in functional magnetic resonance imaging studies, stronger signals indicate larger changes in blood oxygen concentration. Taking this study as an example, viewing pictures of highly processed food causes more intense neural activity, resulting in a greater exchange rate of red blood cells in microvessels near the target nerve cell group, or greater blood vessel flow rate.

Comparing studies in Taiwan, Huang Yizhen said that domestic studies compared two “National Nutrition and Health Surveys” conducted more than ten years apart and found that intake of ultra-processed foods increased among adolescents aged 16 to 18, and that those who ate more ultra-processed foods had poorer overall diet quality and lower intakes of dietary fiber and micronutrients. Observational studies focusing on economically disadvantaged children found that frequency of consumption of ready-to-eat hot meals was negatively correlated with concentration and concentration in class.

Huang Yizhen said another local study focused on 10 to 15-year-old children who have difficulty paying attention and often eat ultra-processed foods. The researchers divided the children randomly into two groups. One group watched an online health education video to learn how to choose healthy foods. The results showed that children who watched the video ate more prototype foods, saw their intake of ultra-processed foods decline, and their performance on cognitive tests such as attention also improved.

Huang Yizhen pointed out that this US study shows that children should establish healthy eating habits early, not only limiting their intake of ultra-processed foods, but also reducing their exposure to food cues. This can be achieved by not hoarding snacks at home and by keeping snacks within sight and reach. Try to keep fruits, unflavored nuts, plain water, etc. in prominent places; Reduce screen time and exposure to snack advertisements, and focus on the taste of normal food when eating; Don’t use snacks or handshakes as rewards. Before purchasing food, read the ingredient list on the outer packaging, choose products with simple ingredients and few food additives, and buy mainly prototype foods.

However, Huang Yizhen said that this study still has its limitations, because the sample size is only 46 people, and they are in normal posture, so it may not apply to children of other ages and posture. Furthermore, this research design can only illustrate correlation. The causal relationship and physiological mechanisms between ultra-processed food intake and brain responses still need to be verified with larger samples and conventional tests.